In just over a weeks time I am going with my brother and his two teenage sons to California. The plan so far is fly to SF, rent car, drive around and see stuff before 3 nights back in SF and home 17 days later. This in-depth level of planning worked a charm when we went from Atlanta to SF a couple of years ago, but it is a lot easier deciding where to go next when you have a westward imperative. We have fair idea of what lies east & south of SF but looking at a map there is a whole lot of California north of there which is a mystery to us.
Any ideas of what we could do on a short trip northwards? It would need to be a short visit as there is stuff we definitely want to do in the south, but it would be a shame to miss a gem just through ignorance. We will be using a mixture of camping & cheaper motels for the trip so are quite flexible.
The “Avenue of the Giants” is north I believe. I also drove through a huge tree somewhere north of Marin County which was a neat tourist stop and I really liked visiting Muir Woods.
Avenue of the Giants, while spectacular, is in Redwood National Park which is at the very northern tip of California. I don’t think if fits the OP’s criteria of “short trip”. Marin County itself is quite beautiful. Sausalito is a charming town on the bay and it’s fun to hang out at the bayside bars. Mt. Tamalpais and the Muir Woods are quite beautiful. Stinson Beach and Point Reyes are pretty great (I’d put Point Reyes on the almost must see list). You could drive up the coast on Highway 1 to Mendocino and then shoot down through the wine country which is beautiful country even if you don’t drink wine.
Having lived in the the North Bay area for 20 years, there is so much to see. Oh I miss it!!!
I always liked the coast there. If you drive up Hwy 101 you will find an exit in Cotati for Hwy 116. It will take you out through beautiful countryside and the town of Sebastopol. If you contuinue on to the west, you will find the town of Bodega, where Alfred Hitchcock filmed “The Birds”. The church is still there and it is a just a speck on the map, a tiny place. As you continue to the coast, you come upon Bodega Bay, another landmark from the movie and a wonderful stop in the area. There is the Tides restaurant where some of the scenes from the movie were filmed and the food is stil pretty good. Fresh seafood and fish! YUM! There is a cool gift shop there too. Saltwater taffee is one of the things you should try. The area is known for it.
You then could keep travelling north and find yourself along Coast Highway 1, where you find many turnoffs and park along the highway and go down paths to the beaches. There are some beautiful ones. My personal favorite is Wright’s Beach, it has a long sandy beach and some beautiful rock formations.
If you go further north up the hwy , you will come to Goat Rock Beach, near the town of Jenner, another very nice stop along the way.
As you go even furthur north you will find lots of uninhabited areas. After a stop at the beach, I would turn around and go back to Hwy 116 and onto Hwy 101 which is the main Hwy through the area. (Just a note: There is an awesome flea market in Sebastopol right on 116. It has been going on for years and can be quite fun, if you are into that sort of thing.) There is much to do in the Santa Rosa area as well.
There are 2 great magazines that you can get: Sonoma County Guidebook or The California Official Visitor’s Guide. They will list hundreds of things to do. I would check out the coast though. It is pretty and a must see for everyone!
Have fun and enjoy!
Another vote for Pt. Reyes. One of my favorite places. On a clear day the drive out to the lighthouse or Pierce Ranch is just spectacular. The Bear Valley Visitor center is pretty cool; right next to it the Morgan Horse Ranch where they train horses for NPS duty. Lots of hiking opportunities, and different types of beaches to stroll along.
Right on the other side of the bridge, in the Rodeo Lagoon area, you can check out the marine mammal rescue center, explore the old buildings of Fort Cronkite, and take a hike to the Pt. Bonita Lighthouse. There’s also the Nike Missile base that you can visit Wed-Fri in the afternoon.
Even if you don’t like wine, Castello di Amora is a great place to visit (assuming teenagers are impressed by 16th century Italian castles these days).
And one more vote for Point Reyes. We head out there at least once a year as it is just such a gorgeous place. Actually, blondebear’s post is perfection. Skip the geyser and the petrified forest, they’re both kind of schlocky roadside attractions.
I would also highly recommend Castello di Amorosa even if wine is not a draw. It’s simply amazing. It’s also a bit pricey, and anyone under 21 can only attend the morning tours. I’ve gone 3 times already, and I’d go 3 more in a heartbeat. Granted I’m a total wine nerd, but it’s definitely the castle itself that keeps me going back.
Thanks people. Lots of interesting stuff and just the sort of stuff we are looking for. Looks like this is going to be a great trip, teenagers notwithstanding
I’ve got the perfect thing for teen boys- the Lava Beds National Monument.
It’s a series of new (geologically speaking) lava tubes out in the Northern California high desert. There’s at least 50 miles of caves, nearly all of which are available to the public and nearly none of which have any kind of tour, guide, path, signs, or fragile ancient cave structures that you can ruin by touching them. You simply drive up to the cave mouth, put on your bike helmet and turn on your flashlight, and crawl in. There’s all kinds of tunnels and low ceilinged places to crawl through, but if your back doesn’t permit it, you won’t have to follow them. There are some historically significant forts and buildings in the area, but you might skip them if you’re not historically inclined.
I couldn’t tell you exactly how far away from you it is, but it’s maybe an hour or two south of Klamath Falls, OR. I suppose that’s probably 3 or 4 hours from San Francisco, which might be out of your range. Still, that’s about the best thing I can think of in the area, aside from the already-named redwood forests.
Pt. Reyes of course is golden ( go see the Tule Elk herds at Tomales Point ), but since nobody else has mentioned it specifically, I’ll note that immediately north of SF is the Marin Headlands. It presents perhaps the most iconic and spectacular view of the city and Golden Gate Bridge, made famous as a backdrop in such cinematic “classics” as The Killer Elite ;).
Assuming you’re planning several-day tour, rather than day trips from SF, I concur with appleciders about Lava Beds. (I’d give it at least 6 hours from SF, though…) There’s Mount Lassen up that way as well.
Everyone is absolutely right that your top two priorities should be the coast and redwoods. But you could make a very nice 3-5 day tour out of going up the coast to Mendocino, then head inland across to the Cascades, then back down to SF.
For camping, California has a great State Park system – but sites can be a little hard to come by in some parks in summer.
Avenue of the Giants is actually along Hwy 101 south of Eureka - not quite so far as Redwood NP, but still a good 4 hours from SF.
I think Redwood National Park and its Avenue of the Giants (and probably the Lava Beds appleciders spoke of - although I’ve never been there) are about a 5-hour drive north of San Francisco.
I definitely second Pt. Reyes - it’s a beautiful park and there’s a lot of great hiking and kayaking there. The hike out to Tomales Point is great, and the Pt. Reyes Lighthouse is a nice visit.
The Marine Mammal Center (I used to work there) is, unfortunately, closed to the public for construction - there is a visitor center in the Fort Cronkhite complex, but the animal care facility is closed until next spring. There used to be a webcam set up, but I can’t seem to find it now. It’s still worth a visit to the Headlands even if TMMC is closed, though. There’s the Pt. Bonita lighthouse beautiful views of S.F. from Hawk Hill, and lagoons, trails, and ancient military batteries to explore.
Napa and Sonoma are nice to visit even if the teens won’t be wine tasting.
Salt Point State Park (about 3 hours north of San Francisco) is beautiful and has some amazing coastline. There’s a rhododenron forest a little inland which was in bloom last time I was there (April,) and should still be pretty nice.
I’d also second Bodega - it’s a nice little town.
If you want to go all the way to Redwood Nat’l Park or the Lava Tubes, you might want to stay in Trinidad - it’s a nice touristy coastal town.
